Dabbling in Drabbles
by VoicesoftheSoul
Summary: A series of Hetalia drabbles incorporating a myriad of characters. Russia and Ukraine at the moment, but America, Lithuania, and Romano to come. It might become a request-based thing later on, but we'll see.
1. Chapter 1

**Drabble** – Only a Little While…

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Hetalia

_For Scatterheart Angel _

"I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being."

- Hafiz of Persia

"I'll be back in a little while, Vanya," Irina tenderly embraced her brother's small torso, his head resting on her ample chest. "...take good care of Natasha while I'm gone. Make sure she eats and gets to sleep on time."

Every time Irina left her little brother and baby sister to fend for themselves, she felt like stones had been put in her feet, cotton in her fingertips, and boiling water in her brain. It was the guilt, that terrible, awful, all-consuming guilt. How could she leave them so readily, time after time after time? Was it really to protect the two young children as she so often told herself?

"Irunya," his voice was muffled, trapped in the vast expanse of her bosom. Reluctantly Irina let him go, straightening his worn tunic as she did so. He blinked, his strange violet eyes reflecting the light of the flickering fire in an almost unnatural way. Out of the three siblings, he was the only one with eyes the color of amethysts.

"Irunya," the boy began again. "Why do you leave us alone?"

Her brother did not look at her with accusation, or vengeful spite or hatred. He was simply keen on discovering exactly _why_ it was his beloved older sibling abandoned them, defenseless, so often. Such innocent wonder…

But the fact it was innocent did not stop Irina's reply from catching in her throat.

"I…I leave you so I can protect you," she told him. Irina silently prayed Natalia would not hear them talking by the fire and be aroused from her sleep; she'd toddle over on her chubby little legs, and start shrieking about s_omething_, just like she always did. Putting that child to bed was absolute murder.

"Protect us?"

"_Da_, to protect you and Natalia from the others."

"Others…"

"The nations who live around us."

"…oh."

"Most of them are very young, harmless - but some are very strong…strong enough to hurt you," she met his gaze. "Do you understand now why I leave?"

The fire crackled, and the air smelled of smoke. In the tiny little hut, it was hard for the wood-perfumed air to diffuse itself into something more breathable. Before Ivan could answer her, Irina got up and propped the make-shift door open, just the teeniest bit – smoke would go out, and the paralyzing cold of the night would be kept at bay.

"_Nyet_," came the sudden and quiet reply. Irina turned, sadness and guilt crawling through her veins like ice water.

"What don't you understand?" she returned to the boy, who was staring at his feet. The air in the hut had taken a sudden chill, and the fire cast odd shadows on his face. His expression looked older than his physical six years, more like his chronological one hundred and twenty three. But still, that unsettling calm and childish nature constituted his aura, his effect.

Irina, despite herself, felt hairs rise on the back of her neck. _This is my brother_, she thought to herself. _Why am I afraid of him?_

Then he looked up, the moment was gone, and his face was empty again - just a small, meaningless smile and a slightly tilted head. "Don't worry," he said, his high voice sliding through the air like rare, imported silk through soft fingers. "Irunya, I understand now."

There was a moment's pause before she could speak, remembering to play her part, to maintain her façade of serenity. "…Good," she said, planting a quick peck on his forehead and one tight squeeze. Irina did not meet his lingering gaze – had she, she knew wouldn't be able to hide her inexplicable aversion to the boy.

"Take care of Natasha," she got up, gathered her things, and left the hut without a backwards glance. Trudging through the snow towards the departing encampment of her countrymen – countrymen ready to go to war, for however long and hard – she understood. Irina now knew why her brother unsettled her so.

It was his eyes. His beautiful, unnatural eyes…empty. They said that eyes were the windows to a person's soul, but if Ivan's were devoid of emotion and thought then what could that possibly mean? Irina shook her head, pushing away the nonsensical little thoughts.

_ I have a war to fight_, she reprimanded herself. _And two siblings to take care of. I don't have time for this._

So she forged ahead, willing herself to forget about her inner misgivings. Just for a little while.

END

(A/N) So, this is for Scatterheart Angel! XD I hope I did everything right, what do you think?

This is the first in a series of drabble-ish one-shot things I'm writing for people who guessed the correct sequence of Hetalia cameo's in my other story, "Lessons in Housekeeping" ^_^

Thanks for reading, and I hope you stick around for the other ones! ;)

Adieu! ~ Vots :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Drabble **– You Pass

**DISCLAIMER:**__I do not own Hetalia

_For silvershadowfemme_

Time stands still

Beauty in all she is

I will be brave

I will not let anything take away

What's standing in front of me

Every breath

Every hour has come to this

Christina Perri, A Thousand Years

"Hey Al, after British lit. we're going down to the dorm lounge to play some foosball. You game?"

Alfred blinked away the drowsiness tugging ever-so-temptingly at his eyelids. He turned slowly to his friend, Gil, who was occupying the space next to him on the unforgivingly hard lecture room benches. Everything was a little hazy – he'd been drifting in and out of awareness throughout the lecture, the intricacies of Hamlet unable to win his undivided attention.

"H-huh…?"

Lovino crumpled up a note sheet and lobbed it at the back of Alfred's head from his elevated vantage point. "Eh, _stupido_," the Italian chastised him in his typically brusque fashion. "What's the matter with you? This is the third class today you've fallen asleep in."

Gil grinned and leaned in close. "It's a girl, isn't it? You've got a lady friend keeping you up late, right?" He wiggled his eyebrows. "Does that you're finally over that Sakura chick?"

Alfred sighed, rubbing at his eyes and stretching his legs beneath the wooden desktop. "No, it's not a lady friend," he explained groggily, his brains' cognitive sense gradually assembling themselves as he became more and more aware of his surroundings. The pointed glares being aimed in their direction, in particular. Sheepishly, he lowered his head and his voice.

"…it's history," he mumbled.

Gil's eyes widened in horror and amusement. "_You're beating the meat to your history textbook?_"

The entire class fell silent, even their ornery, heavily-browed British literature professor at the front of the room. Alfred could feel the blood rushing to his face, and the heat that came with it. Every single gaze directed towards him felt accusatory and scorching. He sank down in his seat as far as it would allow.

A few moments later, the class haltingly resumed.

"Say that a little louder, why don't you?" he hissed furiously. _Honestly, I just wanted to get some sleep!_

"Wait, wait, wait," Lovino chuckled. "So the _idiota _over there is _right_?" He was pointing incredulously to the silver-haired Gil, who looked none too pleased about the jab at his intelligence.

"NO! Of course he's not!"

"Well then kindly explain, whack-master," Gil had recovered from the blow, and was back to his hubristic self. "Because last time I checked, history wasn't exactly a hot babe."

"I'm staying up late to study," he explained to his friends. "And my roommate isn't much of a help…"

"That Feliks guy?" Lovino supplied. "The one with the skirts and the make-up?"

"Yeah! He's awake until, like, _three in the morning_ just talking to his friends and stuff. He. _NEVER_. Shuts. Up."

"You could come and room with us if you wanted," Gil shrugged. "That is, if Lovino's brother doesn't get there and take up space before you do."

"Hey, watch your damn mouth," the Italian snipped. "I don't complain about all the crap you and _your_ brother leave lying around the room, or those damned insta-mashed potatoes rotting in the microwave – "

"_What _crap! Ludwig is the neatest freak I know, greaseball!"

"Guys, guys!" Alfred mediated, exasperated and tired. _I'm in no mood for this._ "Just cool it, okay? You're gonna get us kicked outta class. I'm good for the time being, I'll just…figure something out."

"Potato munching _bastardo_," Lovino managed to sling one last insult, which Gil ignored.

…_Thank you, God…_pissed professors was one thing, a feuding Lovino and Gil was a whole nother story.

"Yeah, ol' eyebrows has been giving us the evil eye for a while...," the German ceded, lapsing into a rare moment of silence. Suddenly, his face lit up. "I know! Get a tutor."

Alfred raised an eyebrow skeptically. "A tutor?" It wasn't like he'd never considered it, but honestly the thought of enlisting someone to help him learn and study was embarrassing. He was supposed to be smart, right? He wouldn't have gotten that scholarship to study in England otherwise. He knew he could be kind of senseless at times, but still…_it's not my fault all the names and dates and places and events blend together into one big mess!_

Gil nodded eagerly. "Yeah, yeah! You see that girl over there, in the front row?" He gestured to a faraway head of what appeared to be chestnut hair.

Alfred squinted. "Kinda…" _Time to get a new prescription._

"She helped me out with my Russian, _totally_ bookish. She got me up from a D to a B. I had to dismiss her, though."

Lovino sniffed derisively. "Probably because she wouldn't sleep with you."

Gil opened his mouth to retort, but Alfred reinserted himself into the conversation before words and slurs started flying around out of hand, _again_.

"Is she really that good?" he asked, earnestly. _This just might be my saving grace! _Going from a D to a B was phenomenal, especially considering the person in question was Gil and the fact he'd never taken a lick of Russian until sophomore year. _I might as well check her out…_

"You know," Lovino said thoughtfully. "I think she tutored Feliciano, too. He was having trouble in geography, or seventeenth century poetry – some artsy-fartsy crap like that."

_This coming from a guy taking a British literature class_, Alfred dryly observed. "What's her name?" he inquired right as the bell tower in the middle of campus rang, its deep tolls reverberating across the grounds and releasing students from their classes, and calling others to them.

"Uh," Gil was gathering up his things haphazardly, and so was Lovino. "Tiesa…Tiesa Laurinatė! That's it – Laurinatė."

"Tiesa…Laurinatė?" _Strange name._

"Yeah, and she's got kind of an accent, so just be prepared."

"Gottcha," Alfred flashed his friends quick thumbs up. Privately he was assured that if he could decipher both Lovino and Gil's respective linguistic lilts, understanding whatever strange tongue this Tiesa Laurinatė supposedly spoke in would be a breeze. "I think I'm going to stay behind, catch her as she leaves, alright?"

"'Kay," Gil nodded. Lovino simply shrugged.

"You will remember we're having dinner with Rod and the others later, right?" the Italian wanted to affirm.

"Yeah, I got it. See you guys later," Alfred waved his good-byes and trotted down the steps, dodging exiting student as he made his way to the first row of bench-desks where the head of chestnut hair was still seated and rapt in conversation with Mr. Kirkland. He slid into a row a few behind the girl and the professor, tapping his fingers on the wood repetitiously. _A nervous tic…why the hell am I nervous?_

The verbal exchange was too far away for him to hear properly, and besides, it was probably about something silly like Hamlet's "tortured inner being" or Ophelia's "tendency to change sides like a flopping fish."

…_huh. Maybe I'm learning stuff in this class, after all._

The conversation drew to a close, and as Professor Kirkland began to ascend the steps, Alfred was already moving down them.

"Professor," he nodded upon passing the man, receiving nothing but a curt glance in response. _Well, he's rightly pissed. Why wouldn't he be? My friends are assholes._

His nerves bunched up in chest despite himself, and standing aimlessly behind her the way he was, Alfred felt like an idiot on a professional level. _Here goes nothing._

"H-haaa…," _WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? STUPID!_ He cleared his throat as she turned. "Hey…," he trailed off, speechless. _Dammit._

"Yes?" Her face was open and friendly, eyes wide and bright. "Can I help you?"

His first thought was – what accent? Sure she had a slight one, but it certainly wasn't off putting. It was kind of hard to place, but that gave her an exotic air – it sounded kind of Russian at times, but then it wasn't…

Alfred didn't know where to begin, so he figured the basics should be taken care of first.

"Hey, I'm Alfred," he stuck out his hand eagerly - _too_ eagerly. _Shit, now she'll think I'm some kind of freak. _

Whether she thought he was a freak or not was not immediately evident, for she took his hand as readily as he had extended it, giving it a firm shake.

"I'm Tiesa," she smiled.

_Brain…brain, come on buddy, I need you right now!_

…"Hey."

_That's the best you could come up with!_ It was then Alfred realized he was still holding onto her hand, and he recoiled as if his fingers were broiled with flame. "Ah…sorry."

Tiesa simply raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused by his mad search for the right thing to say. She even laughed a little as she gathered up her books and notes. "It's alright. Did you want to talk to me about something?"

"Yeah!" he said, grateful she'd supplied what his fried brain hadn't. "Yeah, I was wondering if um…if you could help me…?" His train of thought had been derailed, and he bit his tongue in self-frustration.

_Just man up and ask!_

Tiesa checked to make sure she had everything and shifted her books so they were partially balanced on her hip. "Well, that depends," she said, assessing him. "What do you need me to help you with?"

"…history."

Tiesa grimaced. "Do you have Bonnefoy?"

_Yes! Say yes, you idiot!_ "Yeah…is that bad?"

"Keep this between you and me," she grinned, shaking her head. "But Professor Bonnefoy knows next to nothing when it comes to his own area of "expertise"."

Alfred nodded, glad to have this common thread between them. "I know, right? Nothing the guy says makes sense! And well, I have some friends you helped, and I was just wondering…"

"Sure thing. I'd be happy to help you," she nodded. "Where are you headed next?"

"Wherever you're going," he said before he could stop himself. _If there were ever a moment I could be swallowed up by the floor…now would be it. Floor? Help me out here?_ "I – I – don't know," he tried to erase the last few seconds lamely, and to no avail.

_Stuttering now? What's wrong with me?_

Even Tiesa looked a little thrown at this his latest utterance, but maintained face at the very least. "A-alright…I'm going to the dining hall. How about we talk about it over coffee?"

"Sounds good."

Trailing after her like a duckling shadows its mother up the steps, Alfred felt almost as if he'd been drugged. _What is my problem, today?_

By the time they'd gotten to the dining hall, he'd loosened up a bit. The two settled down at a table, and after discussing schedules and study sessions, got on to other topics. Tiesa did most of the talking at first, but once Alfred got into the flow of the conversation he was almost unstoppable – Tiesa seemed happy to listen.

_No one's ever made me feel like this…_

Alfred felt as if he'd opened a door, or looked through a window and glimpsed the future. In this future he was happy, he knew Tiesa (how intimately, he did not yet know), and moreover, Alfred had passed Bonnefoy's history class.

It was a day of many pleasures. Alfred didn't even realize he'd missed that dinner with his friends until it was too late. And the strangely amazing part? He care in the slightest.

(A/N) True love o3o This was for silvershadowfemme, who wanted a America x fem!Lithuania AU college setting ^_^ I got kind of carried away with this one…it was fun to write -_-; (especially the Romano and Prussia parts!)

Hope you like it, silvershadowfemme! :D Was there enough AmLiet in there? D;

I actually kins of based the whole "speechless" thing on my parents' own college-meeting story. And they've been together 20+ years, so they must have done something right! XD Let's hope Alfred and Tiesa have a similarly happy life together, eh? :d

Until next time ~ Vots


End file.
